Picking mechanism and picker stick therefor



Dec. 13, 1949 w. A. BLANCHARD PICKING MECHANISM AND PICKER STICK THEREFOR Filed July s, 1948 FIGLS FIG. 4f

FIG.6

INVENTOR WILLIAM A BLANCHARD ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1949 PICKINGJMECHANISM AND PICKER STICK THEREFOR William A. Blanchard, Millbury,.-M ass.assignor to Crompton & Knowles 1.100111Works',,Worces-A ter, Mass., a corporation `of Massachusetts Application July 3; 1948,-Serial Nb. 36,9341

' s claims. (ci. 139-157) This invention relates to improvements in picking mechanism for looms and it is thegeneral object of the invention to providean iin-- proved preferably tubular picker stick made in stepped sections to provide the customary taper. Picker sticks are customarily made of wood which is subject to natural variations in strength, grain, etc., resulting in a high pereentage of breakage. It is an important object of the' present invention to provide a picker stick which is preferably metallic and tubular and having provision at its lower end forpivotal mounting and` at its upper end for engagement with the shuttle picker.

Picker sticks are generally relatively wide and thick at their lower ends and taper toward their upper endsto provide resilience and also fit that part of. the picking mechanism engaging the shuttle. Itis aiurther object of the present inventionv to provide a picker stick which will have a taper resulting from making the tube in a series of'stepped sections, the sections diminishing inboth width and thickness from the bottom to the top of the stick.

It is always necessary to provide some means for applying power to the picker stick and it isv afurther object of the invention to provide a lug strap support means which will be held against downwardmovement relatively to the stick by a shoulderor step on one of the edges of the stick. The-picker stick and support means have mutually engaging shoulders or steps which fix .the

vertical position of the support.

In. order to permit vertical adjustment of the lug strap it is a still further object of the invention to provide the support means with a lug strapengaging holder which can be adjusted along the support in the direction of the length of; the stick, preferably while the shoulders ofV the;support means and stick engage eachother.

With these and other objects in View whichr will. appear as the description proceeds, the in-v vention resides in the combination and arrangementof parts hereinafter described and set `IEFig. 5f shows anvenlargement of apart of;

Fig. 3.

.Referring particularly to Fig. 1,l the loom frame.' It: supports a lay ll which is driven by a top.

or crankshaft l2 having secured thereto a gear, |31. the bottom shaft I5 to which is secured a rpick-.- ing actuator i6 having rotatable thereon a pick-.- ing roll il. once for each pick of the loom while the bottom. shaft rotates every second pick of the loom.

A picker shaft 20 extends back and forthl in: theloom and is rockable in bearings one ofzwhich: is shown at 2l.

spindle 3| secured to the lay. While Fig. 1 shows this particular means of transmitting power from the stick P to the shuttle S, the inventionis not necessarily limited toa picker which slides on a spindle.

Except for the picker stick, which will be described inr detail hereinafter, the matter thus.

far describedis of common construction. Every alternate pick of the loom the roll il will depress the cam L22 to rock the picker shaft 20 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1,. to move the lug strap 25 to the left for the purpose of propelling the shuttle S to the opposite' or:v left hand side of the loom. On the nextV pick of the loom mechanism similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but located at the opposite side ofthey- 100m. returns the shuttle.

In carrying the invention into eiect the picker stick is preferably constructed of tubular form and metallic and is stepped from itslower toV its. upper end in such a way as to provide the gen-y eral taper shown for instance in Fig. 1. stick P is preferably though not necessarily` formed asa seamless tube the wall of which, des-- ignated generally at 35, is sufficiently thick to" provide adequate strength and resilience. The stick has outer and inner edges or edge walls 3'6 and 31, respectively,'and front and Iback sides or side walls 38 and 39, respectively. rll'heser edges and walls are continuous from the, bottomz tothe top of the stick but areA provided with steps ershoulders so that each section of' theAVL The latterjmeshes with another gear i4 onf The top shaft I2 generally rotates' The shaft has secured thereto;V a picking cam 22 which is actuated by the'y rol-l? Secured to the shaft 20 is a power arm 2 3f which extends upwardly therefrom and is at- The."

stick is narrower and thinner than the one below it. The walls are preferably though not necessarily of uniform thickness. In Fig. 1 six sections are shown and are indicated at I- 45, sections 40 having maximum width and thickness and section 45 being narrower and thinner than any of the other sections.

At the point of juncture between two adjacent sections shoulders or steps are formed, the steps on the edges 36 and 31 being designated respectively at 48 and 49, respectively. These steps or shoulders face upwardly because of the direction in which the picker stick tapers, and set olf the various sections of the stick.

In order to provide an operative connection between the lug strap 25 and the picker stick P there is provided a lug strap support means shown more particularly in Figs. 3 to 6, and designated generally at 50. The support 50 is provided with a vertically extending body l formed intermedi ate its ends with a shoulder 52 which faces downwardly. 'Ihe upper end 53 of the support has extending laterally therefrom and inwardly toward the loom a pair of wings or arms 55, and the lower end 54 of the support has another pair of wings or arms 56 similar to wings 55. In order to provide means for holding the support to the picker stick each pair of arms is provided with a clamping bolt. As shown in Fig. 3 an upper bolt or screw 60 extends through slots 6l in arms 55,

while a second bolt or screw 62 extends through slots 63 in the lower arms 56. The slots 6l and 63 are horizontal and are of such length as to permit the bolts 60 and 62 to be moved in close to engage the inner edge 31 of the picker stick for the purpose of holding the support 50 in the position shown in Fig. 3 with shoulder 52 engaging one of the shoulders 48 on the outer edge 36 of the stick to prevent the support from slipping down along the stick. The lug strap extends around the support 5D as shown particularly in Fig. 5.

In order that the position of the lug strap may be supported and be adjustable vertically or along the length of the picker stick there is provided a holder 65 having a vertical part 66 and an offset foot 61 on which the lug strap 25 rests. The upper end of the holder is provided with a vertical slot 68 which receives a screw 69 tapped into the holder 50 and serving to maintain theA holder in any desired vertical position.

The lower end of the picker stick is provided with an internal plug which may be of any material, such as wood or a light-weight metal such as aluminum or magnesium. Bearing hole 1| is drilled through the front and back walls of the low section 40 and also through the plug to receive a supporting or pivot pin or stud 12 mounted on the rocker iron 21. A screw may be tapped into the plug 10 to hold a strap 16 connected to the aforesaid spring 28.

In operation, the lug strap acting through the holder 65 and support 50 will cause the picker stick to move or sweep to the left as viewed in Fig. l to effect picking of the shuttle S as roll I1 engages cam 22. If it be desired to adjust the power of the pick the holder 65 can be changed by loosening the screw 69 and sliding the holder vertically along the support member 50. This adjustment can be made without disturbing the screws 60 and 62 and while a shoulder on the picker stick engages the shoulder 52 of the sup-V port 5U.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple form of picker stick made of 4 stepped sections which diminish in width and thickness from the bottom to the top thereof when the stick is in operating position. The stick has steps or shoulders between its sections and one of vthese steps is utilized to engage the shoulder 52 of the support member 50, thereby preventing downward movement of the holder with respect to the stick. The sections are made progressively narrower and thinner from bottom to top of the stick so that the latter is more resilient at its upper end than at its lower end, and each section preferably though not necessarily has parallel edges and back and front faces. The stick is made preferably of a seamless metallic tube, although so far as certain features of the invention are concerned the stick need not be seamless or formed as a single tube throughout its length. Also, the holder 65 is adjustable vertically along the support member 50 and the adjustment of the holder can be made without disturbing the engagement of the shoulder on the support and the shoulder on the stick which it engages.

Having thus described the invention, it will be seen that changes and modications of the foregoing specic disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the in-Y vention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In picking mechanism for a loom having a lug strap, a picker stick having sections of progressively diminishing width from the lower end to the upper end thereof, said stick having up' wardly facing shoulders between the sections thereof, a support engaging certain of said sections and having a downwardly facing shoulder engaging one of the shoulders on the picker stick;l

and a holder for the lug strap on said support.-

Y2. In picking mechanism for a loom having alug strap, a picker stick having sections of Drogressively diminishing width from the lower end to the upper end thereof, said stick having upwardly facing shoulders between the sections thereof, a support engaging adjacent sections of the picker stick and having a downwardly facing shoulder, means holding the support on saidr4 picker stick with said shoulders engaging each other, and a holder for the lug strap on said support.

3. In picking mechanism for a loom having a lug strap, a picker stick having sections of progressively diminishing width from the lower end to the upper end thereof, said stick having upwardly facing shoulders between the sections thereof, a support engaging certain of said sections and having a downwardly facing shoulder" engaging one of the shoulders on the picker stick, a holder for the lug strap, and a connection be tween the support and holder affording adjustment of the latter relatively to the support in the direction of the length of the picker stick while said shoulders are in mutual engagement. WILLIAM A. BLANCHARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Rawson Feb. 5, 1929 

